FX5/6 Replacment motor

Bigtdotcom

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2009
426
57
61
Gold Coast
Hi there just wondering if I buy a replacment motor for a fx5 filter in Canada will it work safly in Australia? Canada is 120 volts and Australia is 240 volts. I know nothing about electronics, will this be safe to do or i can go about this?

I am currently in Canada and can get the motor or half the price I would pay back in Australia.

Any advice would be great
 

Bigtdotcom

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2009
426
57
61
Gold Coast
No one has any info on using electrical goods from north america made for 120 volts in Australia where it is 240 volts. The more i think about it the more is sounds a little unsafe. Anyone have any info on a type of volt converter i could use? I know they exist but dont know what to look for when buying one
 

Fish Tank Travis

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Feb 28, 2016
3,277
2,157
164
36
Dayton, OH
Typically, you cannot just take a 120V motor and hook it up to 240V. They are not built for that. You would have to use a transformer to bring the 240V down to 120V.

Be sure that the 120V motor will even fit in your unit though.

Why don't you just get a 240V replacement?
 

Bigtdotcom

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2009
426
57
61
Gold Coast
The main reason for buying the 120volt in Canada is there price, everything aquarium related is alot more expensive in Oz. Buying in Canada i can save well over $100 on this motor, some Australian web site are selling the motor for close to $300 + delivery, here in Canada i can get it delivered for $120.
Just had a look at transformer, they seem like a good option, how do i know which one to choose? they range anywhere from $15 all the way to $200. Obviously the more you pay the better product you get but what would really be needed to run this filter long term?

Good point on checking if it will fit my unit.....pretty sure it will but i might just contact fluval to check
 

Fish Tank Travis

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Feb 28, 2016
3,277
2,157
164
36
Dayton, OH
For the transformer you just have to be sure it it a 240V input and 120V output. Then you have to check how many amps the motor uses and make sure that the transformer is capable of that.
 

rodger

Polypterus
MFK Member
Apr 29, 2008
3,343
283
92
Kansas City
You can buy an voltage adaptor all over. When I had a job that regularly took me to Japan and Korea, I had an adapter that cost me a whopping $10. Available at any airport that does lots of international flights or on line.
 

pops

Alligator Gar
MFK Member
Nov 24, 2013
6,247
3,304
188
WA
you do not hear of a mag motor going out often, impeller ya, or housing chamber fricked up.
 

Bigtdotcom

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2009
426
57
61
Gold Coast
Ok so this is the story of the filter.
I brought the fx5 off ebay years ago. It was seconf hand and really cheap, the add said that its didnt come with hoses. When i picked it up i realized there was no hoses as mentioned but there was also no intake or out put, no pipping, no hoses clamps or none of the adapters that connect the hoese to the can. The add was a little misleading but what ever. I placed an order for all the missing part hoping to get the fx5 to my tank and replace my sunsun. Anyway by the time i got the parts delivered to Australia it was quite expensive. So i excitedly set the filter up to test it out after hearing rave reviews about it and the flow that was coming out was very weak! I played around with the hoses to see if an improvement but nothing, just really weak flow. When i first got the filter home i was cleaning it and the sponges were all full of sand so i came to the conclusion that the impeller was probably burt out so i ordered a new, once again being quiet expensive to have it shipped to Australia. Put in th ene impeller expecting to see a big improvement in the flow but nothing.....still had the same weak flow. I even did a side by side test with the old and new impeller and they both produced the same amount of flow. I was very dissapointed. By this stage ive had this filter sitting round for a few months collecting dust and the amount of ca$h on this second hand filter + parts i roughly the same as what could have brought me a brand new fx5 and inflated Australian prices. It was around about this time i shut my tank down and moved to Canada to snowboard for a season..... 4.5 years later im still here haha.
I still have my tank and all accessories in storage back in Oz. Im heading home in a month due to visa's being up but i have an application in for permanent residency and im hoping to be back in canada in a few months but there is a chance that residency will be denied and i will be back in Australia permanently. If i find myself permanently back Oz the main this i would want to do is set my tank back up and get back into the hobby hence why i want to get my fx5 running as cheap as possible, i figuar replacing the whole should solve all my problems? this would mean everything aprt from the actual canister and media trays would be pretty much brand new.

I an familiar with thoses universal travel adaptors just wonder would the be safe to uses lone term?
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store